


Nail Bat and Tire Iron

by HashtagLEH



Series: Something Like a Family [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove Is Bad at Feelings, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Billy fights the monsters!, Gay Billy Hargrove, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Protective Billy Hargrove, Protective Mike Wheeler, Protective Steve Harrington
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27847038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HashtagLEH/pseuds/HashtagLEH
Summary: Billy wasgoingto stay at the house with Harrington and the kids, waiting for news and keeping them safe and out of more trouble in the meantime.But Dustin had really good arguments against that plan actually, and he somehow found himself agreeing to go to burn the monster hub.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove & Mike Wheeler, Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove & The Party, Dustin Henderson & Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & The Party, pre- Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Something Like a Family [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009263
Comments: 17
Kudos: 144





	Nail Bat and Tire Iron

**Author's Note:**

> Man, this fic just did not want to be written. It was so hard to decide how to frame things so that they flowed but still set it up for the next installment. Finally, here we are.
> 
> Hope you like it!

El took a breath, looking a little nervous, but she marched determinedly up to the Byers’ front door, staring for a minute in a way that told Billy she was probably unlocking the door or some shit. He huffed amusedly to himself, because she’d just broken the front room window – why not the door, too? Make it a set.

He realized, vaguely, that he may be a little in shock. At the very least, he was high on adrenaline.

The door swung open, and El stepped inside. Billy followed a step behind her, forced to stop when she did so that he didn’t run into her. He looked up, and was startled by the number of faces staring back at them, varying degrees of shock on their own faces.

More alarming though were the amount of weapons pointed their way.

“Fuck,” Billy blurted, raising his hands to show he meant no harm, realizing belatedly that he was still holding the tire iron that was sticky and dripping with monster guts. “We come in peace,” he said anyway.

The weapons were already being lowered though, and Billy blew out a breath and looked back at El – who was watching some gangly looking kid who was coming forward with tears already brimming in his eyes.

 _So that’s Mike,_ Billy supposed vaguely as the two started hugging. He wasn’t much to look at, all told, but then he was like, thirteen so he had room to grow into himself at least.

“Three hundred fifty-three days,” El was saying when Billy paid attention to her again. “I heard.”

Mike looked floored and probably a little betrayed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her.”

Billy looked up, beginning to recognize faces as his shock faded and they weren’t half obscured by weapons, and saw Hopper standing there, gun down at his side at looking between the two of them.

Billy barely noted Mike stepping back in confusion, eyes fixed on Hopper as he came toward El. “The hell is this? Where you been?”

“Where have _you_ been?” El countered mulishly, and something in Billy sighed with relief when all Hopper did was pull the girl into a hug, relief the only emotion in the lines of his body. Later, he would reflect on this moment as the moment he was finally assured that El was safe with Hopper, that Hopper was protective and not abusive. Right then though he just tapped his fingers against his leg and waited for the mushiness to end.

Then Hopper looked up at Billy, and his expression hardened into something more stern. More familiar and expected, almost.

“I suppose _you’re_ responsible for her disappearance?”

Billy gave him a beatific grin that was nonetheless sharp at the edges. “Got it in one, Chief,” he chirped, absently swinging the tire iron a little at his side. “And yet she’s still completely whole, safe and sound back in your _loving_ care.” His voice was mocking, a way to hide his nervousness with being the focus of the cop’s possibly forthcoming ire, but it wasn’t like the words were untrue.

“You’ve been hiding her,” that Mike kid said, voice lit with realization. _About time he figured that out._ “You’ve been hiding her this whole time!”

Hopper pitched forward a little, and Billy realized belatedly when Hopper whirled around that Mike had shoved him, and he had a renewed flash of horror when the older man grabbed the kid by the front of the shirt and said, “Hey! Let’s talk. _Alone_.”

Billy lurched forward, not sure exactly what he was going to do but just because the guy wouldn’t hurt El didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt this other kid and he was _not_ going to let that happen, consequences be damned. Turning a grown man’s anger on him, making the other forgotten and himself a target instead, was something he was well versed in and very willing to do, for this kid who was so important to El – even despite the fact that he’d never met the kid before himself.

But El seemed to already know how he was going to react and she was stepping in front of him before he could throw a punch or say a word of protest, one small hand pressing in the center of Billy’s chest to stop him in his tracks.

“Hopper good,” she reminded him quietly, voice unheard by the others over the sounds of Mike’s protests while Hopper hustled him into a room in the back. “Mike will be okay.”

Billy’s lips tightened, but he had been doubtful of her before and been proven wrong, so he would just have to inspect this Mike kid when he returned. Just in case. For now he just blew out a breath and looked away, not arguing with her while instead letting eyes track over the others in the room. There was a kid that looked like he was maybe ten, with curly hair and a baseball hat and befuddled expression on his face. There was that creepy Byers kid, and the Wheeler chick was there too, holding Byers’ arm like she’d forgotten to let go while she watched them. There was that black kid whom Billy recognized as the one that had been bothering Max and was maybe friends with her, and next to him was –

Mother _fuck_.

Max. Max herself was there, right next to the black kid and the kid with curly hair, and at this realization Billy didn’t look at the rest of the people in the room to take stock or some shit because _Max was there_. Max had been in the house when those fucking monsters had been prowling around outside, and what if they hadn’t shown up when they did? What if El hadn’t killed the thing, and it had gotten inside and attacked and something had _happened_?

Max was staring at him, stunned expression from the events of the night shifting into one more familiar, stubbornness creeping in and expression closing over the longer she stared at him.

“What the _fuck_ ,” Billy demanded, pointing his tire iron in her direction before realizing at the flinch from a couple of people in the room that that might be interpreted as threatening and pulled it back to his side, waving his other, empty hand expressively at her instead. “What happened to staying the hell out of trouble, shitbird?”

“Pot, kettle,” Max shot back, and then looked over as El went to hug the black kid and the curly haired kid.

And Billy had to reluctantly concede that the girl was right, because he _had_ disappeared for a couple of days only to return with a girl with powers at his side and a tire iron for beating up the monsters right in time.

Not that he was going to verbally admit that to her. He stared at her for another moment while she watched El, not looking back at him, before he blew out a breath and forced the ~~worry~~ exasperation away. Now was not the time to wonder at the possible fortitude of thirteen-year-old girls – it was time to actually get rid of the danger present.

He looked around at the rest of the people, and apart from the others he’d noticed before, he saw the woman who must’ve been Byers’ mom and – Steve Harrington.

Shit, this night was full of surprises.

***

El had followed Mama Byers into another room, after a somewhat awkward exchange with Max. It couldn’t even really be considered an exchange, because Max was perfectly nice – strange – and had gone to introduce herself after El had greeted the boys, and El had just stared before brushing past her. At first Billy had been startled, because from what he’d seen of El so far she had seemed very welcoming and trusting of anyone in her path and he would’ve expected that with Max too – but then he remembered in the car, what seemed like forever ago, when El had said, _I’m mad at her too_ , in response to Billy sharing some about his relationship with his step sister.

He saw the look on Max’s face though when El rejected her, the hurt and resignation and confused loneliness that felt so familiar to past experience that Billy _ached_ before her expression closed off and he cut off his own feelings in response. She looked his way, but he didn’t look at her expression, not wanting to see anything that might make him _feel_ something other than hatred for her, and moved instead to where Harrington was standing off to the side. He looked out of place among the other groups of people, and hanging limply at his side was a baseball bat with – _Jesus Christ_ – fucking _nails_ hammered through it.

“Wouldn’t have expected to see someone like _you_ showing up to fight demodogs,” was what Harrington greeted him with when it was clear that Billy was settled at his side for the time being, both of them staring out into the rest of the room like they were keeping guard, watching the goings on.

Billy raised a sardonic eyebrow at the guy, pulling his gaze from Harrington’s lips to look him in the eyes in time for Harrington not to notice the movement. “Someone like _me_?” Billy repeated, and licked his lips. “Oh, you mean someone as _hot_ as me?”

Harrington snorted at that and looked away. “An _asshole_ ,” he corrected, but he didn’t sound angry or anything so Billy was pretty sure he didn’t mean it maliciously.

So Billy just shrugged and pulled out a cigarette, offering one to Harrington who declined with a shake of his head. “Kinda happened by accident,” he mumbled around his cigarette while he lit up. “Was supposed to just take El to meet her mom. The next day I somehow ended up beating one of those dogs’ faces in. Don’t ask me how we got there.”

Harrington hummed, looking a little uneasy as he glanced over at the dead monster that had just been left in the corner of the room where it had presumably landed, before he apparently changed his mind about the cigarette, and without asking reached over and plucked it from Billy’s fingers before drawing in a deep inhale. Billy pushed away the thought that if it had been anyone else who had done that he would’ve gotten mad, instead focused on watching the way Harrington’s lips tightened in an ‘O’ around the cigarette before relaxing as he blew out the smoke in a slow exhale.

“Wait till tomorrow,” Harrington told him with all the wisdom of someone who had dealt with this monster shit before. He took another puff from the cigarette before passing it back to Billy, and he started a little, having half forgotten that he was smoking too, and accepted it to take his own inhale. The paper was a little wet from Harrington’s spit, which was a little gross but so was Billy so he didn’t really care as much as he probably should’ve ~~(or would’ve, were it anyone else)~~.

“So, you were caught up in all the shit last year too, then?” Billy wondered, and at Harrington’s confused little look, he said, “El brought me up to speed on some of it, but she didn’t know everything. How’d you get involved in this monster shit?”

Harrington huffed out a laugh through his nose, but he didn’t seem very amused. “Accident,” he said, in an echo of what Billy had said moments before. He shook his head at Billy’s questioning look and grabbed the cigarette back from him. “Story for another time.”

***

They all gathered for a talk that brought everyone up to speed on what was going on – or at least enough that they could all play their parts. Billy still had questions, some holes in the story that left him wondering, but he understood enough to know: 1) the Upside Down was opened, because it hadn’t completely closed in everything that happened last year; 2) Baby Byers had one of the monsters in his head, taking over his body, because of his connection to the Upside Down after having been in it for so long; 3) the demodogs were the big guy’s – the “Mind Flayer’s” – army and were guarding the gate between the worlds; 4) El could close the gate with her powers, so she and Hopper would be going to do that; 5) to try and save Baby Byers, he was being taken by both Byerses to Hopper’s cabin to burn it out of him; 6) the rest of them were expected to stay behind at the Byers house until they received word that it was over.

He didn’t like that El was going to go close the gate on her own, but he supposed that anyone else there wouldn’t really help, lacking powers as they were, so he didn’t insist on it. And he didn’t like that he was expected to just _stay there_ , but otherwise he wouldn’t know when everything was okay again so he supposed he would just have to deal with it. He didn’t relish the idea of spending any more time around Lady Wheeler either, because she was enough of a bitch to deal with in his English class and he’d never really liked her. (Despite the thoughts that crept into his brain, it was _not_ because she was dating King Steve. That didn’t affect him anyway, so _whatever_.)

That appeared dealt with in the few minutes after they dispersed though, where Harrington and Wheeler disappeared for a few minutes to grab supplies outside, and then Wheeler got in the car with the Byers family while Hopper got into his cruiser with El. Harrington came to stand with the rest of them on the porch, and Billy thought it was pretty melodramatic, the way they all stood around and watched as they disappeared around the corner, but he didn’t say anything, staying in his spot leaning against the door to wait for the others to get back inside. (He would never admit it, but the place gave off creepy vibes that he just really didn’t want to be a part of.)

The curly-headed kid – Dustin, Billy thought his name was? – started talking to Harrington about preserving the demodog (which, what the fuck?), and the rest started following them back inside the house. Mike was trailing behind them, glancing back at where the cars had disappeared with a longing, worried expression.

Billy snagged his attention before he could get inside, using his foot to shove himself away from the wall and back into a standing position.

“Kid,” he said, sauntering toward him. “You alright?”

The kid looked over at him with confusion and a little bit of disdain. “I’m _fine_ ,” he said, wiping at his eyes in what he probably thought was a discreet manner. Billy reached to pull the front door closed, leaving them both outside so that the others wouldn’t hear. “And I’m not a _kid_ , you ass.”

Billy rolled his eyes a little but pressed on. “I’m not talking about your little romance with El. How did your – _talk_ – with Hopper go?” He’d seen the red eyes when the kid had reappeared from the back room, and while the way he’d avoided looking at Hopper wasn’t exactly _fearful_ , it was still enough to get Billy ~~worrying~~ wondering again. He just had to be _sure_.

Mike blinked at him, looking confused. “We just – talked about El. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to blame her for anything – and I _won’t_! I _wouldn’t_.” His voice was certain, protectiveness lacing every word.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure if you tried hurting her that she could take you down herself before anyone else could try,” Billy scoffed.

Wheeler’s expression lifted into a small smile at those words. “Yeah, she really could,” he agreed dreamily.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Billy emphasized, because he really didn’t want to get into their little tween romance – not now, not ever – and that wasn’t the point to why he had pulled Mike aside to check on him. “Hopper. You just talked?”

Mike’s face colored a little in what seemed to be embarrassment – likely about the probable crying he’d done back there out of frustration or something, if they weren’t tears of pain. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Don’t know what else you think we would’ve done in there.”

And Billy figured then that Mike must really be okay, if he couldn’t even _imagine_ that Hopper might’ve gotten angry enough to hit him. It meant all the adults he’d known weren’t the type to abuse and hit – they were people he could trust. Lucky kid, he thought with a small flare of jealousy that was overshadowed by his relief that he really didn’t have to worry about Baby Wheeler – or El, by extension.

“Great,” Billy said, and nodded to the front door. “Let’s see what the rest of the shitheads have gotten up to in the meantime.”

***

Harrington and Dustin were working to get the demodog into the fridge – which still, what the _fuck_ , but he wasn’t going to get in the way of that shit show if he could help it. Max and the black kid – Lucas, he learned – had found a broom and dustpan and were currently gathering all the glass in the living room from the shattered window into a pile. Mike began pacing the living room, clearly worried for El, and Billy was in the same boat really but he wouldn’t stoop so low as to let anyone _see_ that, so he settled into a corner of the couch where he could watch everyone and pulled out another cigarette, affecting an air of carelessness that he’d put on so many times it seemed to fit like a second skin.

It was quiet for just a minute or so, before Lucas paused his sweeping to glare at Mike’s pacing and then said in exasperation, “Mike, would you just _stop_ already?”

“You weren’t in there, okay, Lucas?” Mike said, agitated. “That lab is swarming with _hundreds_ of those dogs.”

“Demodogs!” Dustin corrected from the kitchen, sounding unnaturally cheerful for the conversation. A moment later he was back in the living room, Harrington following just behind him with a look of nausea on his face, no doubt at having shoved said Demodog into the refrigerator. Billy wondered what Mama Byers would say when she found out.

“The chief will take care of her,” Lucas tried, knowing immediately what it was that Mike was so worried about. Something jumped in Billy’s chest, at the reminder of what El was stepping right into the thick of (not that he really needed the reminder, because he hadn’t _stopped_ thinking about it since they’d come up with the plan twenty minutes before).

“Like she needs protection,” Max said sarcastically, and although Billy couldn’t see her face he could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

“Listen, dude,” Harrington said, wiping the slime on his hands on a dish towel. “A coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. Alright?”

“Okay, first of all, this isn’t some stupid sports game,” Mike said heatedly, and despite himself Billy had to agree. Even if any of these kids were interested in sports, and weren’t just nerds, it just wasn’t a good analogy. This was El’s life that they were talking about here – this twelve-year-old _kid_ who had never asked to be responsible for the lives of so many others.

“And second,” Mike continued, “We’re not even _in_ the game. We’re on the bench.”

Harrington looked uncertain then. “R-right, so my point is…” He trailed off, and the kids were all staring at him, trusting and yet looking for a reason to argue whatever point he was going to come up with.

Billy decided to take pity on the guy and drawled, “Yeah, we’re on the bench, but there’s nothing wrong with that.” They all looked over at him, startled like they had forgotten he was there, and he waved the hand holding his cigarette around expansively, trailing smoke behind it. “And El is a badass – she’s gonna be fine. Nothin’ we can do anyway.”

Max was looking at him with an expression that for once he couldn’t completely decipher, so he ignored it and looked at Mike, who looked mutinous, and then Harrington, who looked relieved that someone was agreeing with him but also a little startled that it was _Billy_ who was the one to agree.

And then the little shit Dustin had to pipe up with, “That’s not entirely true,” and everyone was immediately looking at him instead. “I mean, these demodogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.”

“If we get their attention…” Lucas started with dawning understanding.

“Maybe we can draw them from the lab,” Max finished.

“Clear a path to the gate,” Mike chimed in.

“Yeah, and then we _all_ die,” Billy emphasized, chest tightening at the idea. He looked over at Max, who wasn’t looking at him but at Lucas. He took another inhale from his cigarette, trying to calm his shaking hands.

“That’s one point of view,” Dustin said condescendingly. Billy wanted to strangle him, a bit.

“No, that’s not a point of view, man,” Harrington insisted, looking at Dustin like he was an idiot, which – same. “That’s a _fact_.”

“I got it!” Mike said, pushing past Dustin and Harrington into the kitchen. Everyone quickly followed him, and Billy reluctantly rose to his feet to follow as well, because no _way_ was he letting these shitheads get in more danger – no _way_ was he letting Max be a part of this.

The kitchen was dark, but no one bothered to turn on the lights as Mike knelt in front of some part of the weird ass drawings that littered the house – this one didn’t look any different than the others, and Billy didn’t understand the significance until Mike said, “This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So…”

He dashed back out of the room, into the area between the living room and the kitchen that wasn’t exactly a den but wasn’t exactly a foyer.

“Here, right here,” Mike said, gesturing to the larger glob of blue and purple scribbles that looked like an epicenter, all the other paths through the house stemming from this one. “This is like a hub. So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire…”

“Oh, yeah? That’s a _no_ ,” Harrington said firmly, and Billy definitely agreed, because what the hell were these shitheads _thinking_?

As expected, said shitheads completely ignored him.

“The mind flayer would call away his army,” Dustin said.

“They’d all come to stop us,” Lucas said excitedly, getting into the idea.

“Hey,” Harrington tried cutting in.

“We circle back to the exit,” Mike said.

“ _Guys_ – ”

“By the time they realize we’re gone…”

“El would be at the gate,” Max finished Mike’s thought, looking excited herself, and Billy really should’ve expected this idiocy from her, but he had hoped she might be _somewhat_ logical amidst the stupidity from the boys.

“ _Hey_ ,” Harrington finally said, firm and loud to get their attention. “Hey! Hey!” Finally they looked over at him, looking annoyed at the interruption. “This is not happening.”

“But…”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Harrington cut Mike off loudly, hands on his hips and looking every inch the angry concerned mother. Billy might’ve laughed were it not for the topic up for discussion. “No buts. I promised I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s _exactly_ what I plan on.” Max’s head tilted back, looking exactly like she was pouting, and it was what made Billy speak up more than anything else.

“We’re staying _here_ , shitheads,” he told them, voice firm and as dangerous as he could make it, hoping to intimidate them into backing down. They looked back at him, each looking varying degrees of mutinous and upset. “They have their jobs; ours is to wait here. So you try anything, and you won’t like the consequences.”

Max was the one who snorted, unintimidated by his vague threat, and said disdainfully, “Of course _you_ wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty on something so _irrelevant_. What, you’re not worried about precious _El_ facing all those things alone?”

Billy’s top lip curled into a sneer. “El is fucking twelve years old, and she can do more with a stare than _any_ of us can, so I’m pretty fucking sure she’ll be fine. _You_ , on the other hand, get tired on the mile runs in gym class, so forgive me if I don’t trust that you’re actually going to make it out of these tunnels alive, let alone the rest of you brats.” He pointed his cigarette at her with a glare. “I fucking hate you, shitbird, but I don’t want to see you _dead_. We’re staying here.”

“Why not keep _all_ of us safe?” Dustin suggested before Max could retort. Harrington pulled his unreadable stare away from Billy and looked at Dustin incredulously.

“That’s exactly what we’re _trying_ to do, Henderson,” he said longsufferingly.

Dustin shook his head. “No, I mean El and the chief and Will too,” he said. “Really if you think about it, if El isn’t able to deal with the dogs _and_ close the gate, we’ll be in a lot deeper shit in a couple of hours and without her with us. So going now is just helping everyone out and keeping _everyone_ safe.”

“Short term sacrifice, long term gain,” Lucas piped up in agreement.

“We’re not even going to see the dogs!” Mike added insistently. “They’re all guarding the lab – we’ll be gone and out of the tunnels before they make it back, so it’s not even this huge danger.”

“But it would still be a way to help make sure El and Hopper can close the gate,” Max offered.

“Mother _fuck_ ,” Billy muttered expressively, because _damn_ these kids. It was actually a really good argument. He wanted to keep Max safe, and he wanted to keep El safe, and he felt caught between the two, having to decide between one or the other. Their argument negated that, insisted that he could do both, and he could feel himself swaying to it.

When he looked at Harrington to gauge how he was taking the argument, the guy was looking back at him like he was waiting for another denial, another threat that they needed to stay there to stay safe. When he didn’t find it, he let out a string of his own curses and grabbed his hair, tugging it in agitation.

“No, no, no, _no_!” Steve said insistently, moving to block the front door as though that would stop them. “Guys, I made myself _clear_. There is no _chance_ we are going into those tunnels, alright? This ends _now_.”

“Steve,” Dustin was the one to say in a voice that might have come off as condescending on anyone else. “I get it, you’re stressed. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is _our_ duty to provide that assistance.”

“Let’s also not put it past the shitheads to find their way to the tunnels on their own anyway,” Billy said to Steve, but he also glared at all of them as he said it, like he was scolding them for even having the idea. “At least this way they have _some_ kind of supervision.”

“I can’t even believe you’re siding with the kids right now, Hargrove,” Harrington said, stress lining every feature.

“Steve,” Dustin said again, drawing his attention back to him. “I know you promised Nancy you would keep us safe. So”—he picked up the baseball bat with nails from its spot on the ground beside the couch, holding it out to him—“keep us safe.”

Harrington stared at Dustin, expression going resigned and flickering with something like fear. Billy’s heart gave a lurch at the sight, but he pushed it aside as Harrington shook his head and grabbed the bat, his expression instead becoming steely.

“Fine,” he said, and pointed the bat at Billy, not threatening, but just using as a gesture. “We’re taking your car, asshole.”

***

The tunnels were creepy as hell. Billy supposed that was fitting, because he was pretty sure that they were actually one of the circles of hell – or at the very least a portal directly into hell on Earth.

He walked at the back of the group, so he could keep an eye on everyone ahead of him and make sure they were alright, that none of the dogs were going to jump out at them. Or for that matter, the moving, _alive_ vines lining the tunnel on all sides – he watched those carefully any time they shifted, because he wouldn’t put it past hell-made creatures like that that they would strangle one of them or something if they looked away for a moment.

Mike was bossy, assuming that he would lead the way as the one with the idea, and Billy wouldn’t admit to being glad when Harrington insisted on leading the way instead. Harrington was bigger, and he needed to learn to plant his feet, but Billy had more faith in his ability to stay alive than any of the kids. Mike could pout all he wanted.

Throughout the trek through the tunnels, Billy noticed that Max wasn’t looking back at him – almost pointedly, he wanted to say. He wasn’t sure exactly what her deal was, because things had been pretty normal on their last phone call – God, just the night before, it seemed a whole year had passed since then. But since he’d showed up earlier that night, looking back on it he was pretty sure that the air between them was chillier, with a pointed silence like he’d done something recently to offend her. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it might have been – every word they’d spoken had been about the monsters and closing the gate.

Whatever, he shook his head to himself, grimacing beneath the goggles and kerchief that was supposed to protect him from whatever was down there. He hadn’t asked, too concerned about all the other shit going down to bother with it. He could figure out what Max’s issue was later – or just ignore it as usual until she got her own shit figured out and went back to her usual bitchy self again.

He shoved Dustin’s shoulder to get him moving again when he almost ran into him as the little shit stopped to stare up at a pulsating _thing_ in the ceiling that Billy thought looked a bit like a cervix. Dustin sighed longsufferingly, moving on with exaggerated movements, just in time to avoid a blast of _something_ coming from the ceiling cervix.

But it wasn’t in time for Billy to avoid it too, and after the blast had stopped, he glowered at a sheepish Dustin with as much menace as he could manage with the kerchief and goggles blocking the full force of his expression. Dustin seemed to be affected anyway, and with a little _eep!_ he turned and hurried after the others. Billy continued to glower, stomping after the kid and hastily brushing the shit from his hair and clothes, not sure what it was, not _wanting_ to know, and not wanting to have to deal with possible side effects in case the ash-and-skin-like flakes were poisonous or something.

It was probably about twenty minutes after they had entered the hole in the ground that they all piled to a stop in front of a bigger chamber, and Harrington said, “Alright, Wheeler. I think we found your hub.”

“Drench it,” Mike said coldly.

 _Finally get rid of this weight,_ Billy thought with relief, joining the others in spilling the cans of gas and lighter fluid that they’d been carrying on their trek. Normally it would be nothing, not even as much as he normally lifted with his weights, but he had gotten terrible amounts of sleep the past couple of nights and really been through a lot since about Halloween, and he was feeling the effects of it. Hopefully he got a second wind of adrenaline soon.

Just minutes later he cursed that last thought as they ran through the tunnels, the screeching, haunting, sound of those demodogs growing louder as they were clearly pursued. The tunnels were on fire behind them, and the heat was scorching, and Mike was lagging behind everyone else’s running so much that Billy was tempted to just toss the kid over his shoulder and run like mad.

He was seconds away from doing just that when the kid stumbled, tripped, and fell right into the grasp of one of the writhing tentacles lining the ground.

“Help, help!” Mike yelped, kicking at it frantically as though that would help at all.

Billy didn’t waste a moment, beating his tire iron into the meat of the tentacle to try and pain it into releasing its grasp on the tween. It jerked and tightened its hold, and Billy reared back in preparation for another blow, before Harrington called out, “ _Move!_ ” and Billy automatically obeyed. It was just in time for Harrington to come in like an avenging angel with the nail bat, beating the tentacle and piercing flesh, black ooze spurting out. Another strike, and it was severed right through, and the part of the tentacle holding onto Mike went limp, and Mike shook it free immediately.

Billy immediately reached down, grabbing Mike around the arm and yanking him hurriedly to his feet, shoving him along after Steve and the others, who resumed their stumbling running back to the hole they’d come through.

And just moments later, they reared up to a stop as one of the demodogs, alone, stopped them in their tracks, screeching at them in threat. They paused, all wielding their weapons in preparation, and Billy was startled to see that the dog’s face was closed – like it wasn’t actually attacking, but waiting.

“Dart,” Dustin said with something like surprise and relief, and Billy had no idea what that meant, but when he reached out to grab Dustin and pull him back, away from the front of the group, Dustin just swatted vaguely at his hand and pulled away, closer to the monster.

“Shh, stop,” Dustin hushed them all when they began to chatter nervously at each other. Billy wanted to strangle him again, and had the dawning realization that he was probably going to have to get used to that with this kid – with _all_ of these kids.

That is, if they all actually lived through this shit.

“Dustin, get back,” Max demanded, fear lacing her voice. Billy didn’t look over at her, keeping his eyes on the demodog in their way, tire iron wielded and ready to fight back at any sudden movements.

“Trust me, please,” Dustin told them all, eyes on the demodog and hand behind him in a bid for them to stay back.

Billy realized that he was holding his breath, and he forced himself to exhale, to start breathing again as he watched Dustin approach the demodog, and the demodog mirrored his movements. He couldn’t help thinking the monster looked like it was stalking forward, ready to pounce in a moment, and his hands tightened around the tire iron.

“Hey,” Dustin said to the demodog. “It’s me, it’s me. It’s just your friend, it’s Dustin.”

What the hell kind of friends was this kid keeping? Billy wondered vaguely. How on _Earth_ did Dustin know this demodog specifically?

Dustin had moved his goggles and his mask away from his face, and now knelt in something of a crouch in front of the dog.

“It’s Dustin, alright?” he said calmly, even as the demodog crept closer. “You remember me? Will you let us pass?”

Billy would deny the way he jumped when the demodog’s flower face opened up, revealing hundreds of pointed teeth as it screeched its refusal to Dustin, except that everyone – including Dustin – also jumped a little and in some cases a lot as they fell back, expecting an attack.

But it didn’t attack, seeming to be content with just the threat of one in its refusal, and Dustin quickly said, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the storm cellar.” Billy didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, which seemed to be a running theme the past few days. “That was a pretty douchey thing to do.”

Then he said, “You hungry? Yeah?” and Billy wanted to smack the kid in the head because why on earth would he remind him that there were food sources right in front of him, but then Dustin was taking off his backpack and pulling out – chocolate?

“I’ve got our favorite,” Dustin went on. “See? Nougat.” And fuck him, but the demodog _did_ look excited, like an actual dog who had just been offered a treat.

Dustin’s plan then became clear, as he set the chocolate on the ground for the demodog to eat, waving them hurriedly to pass him while it was distracted. Billy wondered as he followed behind the others how these monsters could even see, because he had yet to see evidence of any eyes – not that he was going to get up close enough to study one, because he wasn’t suicidal.

They paused to wait for Dustin to follow, and when the demodog – Dart, Dustin called it – glanced back at them making their escape, Billy held his breath until it turned back to the chocolate, now ignoring them.

“Come on,” Billy breathed roughly, prodding Dustin back in front of him as he brought up the rear, watching their backs for any more demodogs.

Billy was pretty sure they were almost back to the hole out of the tunnels when the entire area shook, and for a moment he disregarded it as an earthquake, because he was used to tremors in California, but then he remembered – _Indiana doesn’t have earthquakes._

The thought crossed his mind just as a roar sounded through the tunnels, not unlike the demodogs but in much higher volume. His blood went cold as he rapidly calculated how much time they’d been down there already since setting the hub ablaze.

“They’re coming,” Mike said for all of them, and as the screeching got louder he turned and said, “Run! _Run!_ ”

Their speed was impossibly doubled as they ran, and it took only two more corners before the hole was in sight above them, rope still hanging down, illuminated by the moon and the headlights of his car.

By wordless agreement, he and Harrington crouched next to each other, each boosting one of the kids out of the tunnel so they could move faster. Max went first, climbing out hand over hand on the rope and then turning to help Lucas behind her, who struggled more without help of the rope. Mike followed and then Dustin right behind him, Lucas and Max each pulling one of them up to make room for him and Harrington.

But it was just as Dustin’s feet disappeared that the light behind them, further into the tunnels, flickered with the shadows of a hoard of demodogs, screeches loud right behind them. Billy met Harrington’s eyes, both immediately understanding that there was no time to get them both out, and both of them fighting would have a higher chance of actually beating them. It was a fool’s hope, but Billy wasn’t leaving Harrington behind and he knew by the look in Harrington’s eyes, the resolute firmness of his jaw, that Harrington wasn’t going to leave Billy behind either.

The kids were shouting above them to reach up, to climb out, but Billy ignored it, resting into a fighting stance and wielding his tire iron like a club.

“Remember to plant your feet, Harrington,” he said with a little smirk, adrenaline surging anew in preparation for the fight ahead.

“You know, at this point you can just call me Steve,” Harrington – _Steve_ – said, but he did plant his feet, stance strong as he readied his nail bat. Billy swallowed and stared at the shadows growing larger on the wall of the tunnels.

When they came, it was a mass of demodogs barreling toward them at full speed, screeches echoing and nails scratching, and Billy crouched lower, pulling the tire iron back further to allow for a larger swing –

And the demodogs’ faces stayed closed, heads down, and they ran past them like they weren’t even there, completely ignoring them.

Billy shuddered inwardly as several dozen of them slid against his side on their way past, but he stayed on his feet, meeting Harrington’s eyes and just as stunned as him at the lack of a fight. As one, they looked in the direction the demodogs were running, and Billy realized a moment later – the lab. That must go in the direction of the lab.

“Eleven,” he heard Mike breathe above him, and his heart leaped into his throat at the reminder. He hoped that El could close the gate in time that those demodogs couldn’t reach her.

***

They went back to the Byers’ house. What else could they do? The others probably had no idea what they’d been doing, and they would expect them to be back where they’d left them. They didn’t want to be an extra worry if one of the groups returned and couldn’t find them, so Billy drove them all back.

They were all pretty sure that the headlights going suddenly brighter before going back to normal had something to do with El’s powers being stretched. Billy supposed it made sense that the effort would have her affecting her surroundings involuntarily – at least, he hoped that it was a good thing, that she had won. The world didn’t seem to be imploding, and no demodogs came leaping out of the hole to rip them apart now that they didn’t have to protect the lab.

The assumption, the hope, that El had succeeded, let all of them relax enough to make room for exhaustion to seep in. For a moment, Billy wanted to hug Max, just relieved that she was still okay after all of this, that she didn’t even have a sprained ankle to show for the night. But then he remembered that she was mad at him for something, and would probably shove him away, and he didn’t want to deal with that in front of all the others, so he contented himself with tugging once on a lock of her hair as he passed her on his way to the driver’s seat as they all piled into the car.

The car ride was mostly silent, none of the complaining that had gone on on the way to the tunnels present now. They were too tired to be bothered about how all four of them had to pack so tightly together that the two on the ends weren’t even completely on the seat, or how the two in the middle had to contend with the divider in the floor that left them with about half the leg room a person needed.

Billy glanced in the rearview mirror at one point to see Lucas practically asleep on Max’s shoulder, but he looked away when Max caught his eye just so she could glare at him, daring him to say something about his skin again. He wasn’t in the mood for an argument at the moment, not after he had thought multiple times over the past hour that she was going to be killed. Besides that, it really didn’t seem to matter right now. Maybe he was too tired. Maybe he was in shock. He didn’t know or care, but in any case he just turned his attention back to his driving.

When they got back to the house, it seemed strange to be back in a place with four walls again, but Billy just followed everyone else inside. He looked at the walls, at the crayon drawings that represented those damn tunnels, and with a small shudder, he reached to the closest drawing and tore it down, moving onto the next one methodically, removing the horrific reminder. He was pretty sure the Byerses wouldn’t want to see this either. After a moment, he saw movement out the corner of his eye, and saw that Steve had wordlessly joined him in taking them down. Billy blew out a breath and didn’t say anything, and after a few minutes the other kids returned to the front room, their own piles of papers in their hands as they had pulled them down from the back rooms.

The Byers crew and Nancy Wheeler returned first, coming through the front door while Billy was scrounging up some food from the refrigerator’s contents still scattered out on the ground, Steve was cleaning up some of the mess that had accumulated over the stress of the last few days, where Baby Byers had apparently been going through this shit for longer than they’d been aware of it, and the kids were all in the front room, piled in wait on the couch and talking quietly.

Billy paused when he looked up to see Creepy Byers – shit, he really needed to figure out the guy’s real name – standing in the doorway with sweat still drying in his shirt and hair, a haunted look in his eyes and his stance uncertain.

“What happened to the fridge,” Byers said dumbly, blinking at the food on the floor. He took a few steps in, so he was now fully in the kitchen.

“Dustin wanted to keep the monster,” Billy said dryly. He held out the platter he’d set up like an offering. “Veggies? Cheese?”

Byers blinked, and glanced over at Steve, who had just hung up on the rod the towel that he’d used to wash the dishes.

“It’s not poisoned,” Steve teased, though his voice was tired, a joking tone too much of an effort to affect in his fatigue. He clapped Byers on the shoulder companionably, and Billy wondered at how Steve could have no hard feelings to the other guy for essentially stealing his girlfriend. Billy would not be so kind.

And then Steve confirmed his thoughts with the question he directed at Byers next, “How is Will doing?”

“He’ll be okay, I think,” Byers said with a relieved sigh, glancing back toward the living room. “Actually, that’s why I came in here – he’s hungry. The Mind Flayer didn’t think about feeding him while it was…possessing him.”

Billy hummed, popping a cheese cube into his mouth. “Let’s get Baby Byers some food, then,” he said, walking with the plate back to the living room, where he discovered the kid looking like death in the middle of the couch, all his friends crowded around him protectively, showing their support by touching any bit of him they could reach.

He hadn’t seen the kid – Will, he remembered – before then, everything all caught up in chaos, but as soon as he saw him looking so comparatively small among his friends, something delicate about him that was more than the pale skin and dark circles under his eyes, he resigned himself to the protectiveness that began to boil somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. He should expect at this point how he just seemed to be pseudo adopting kids left and right – first was El, then Mike, and now this boy.

Not that he would ever admit to caring about them. He still had an image to maintain, after all.

He went over to the huddle on the couch, not bothering to make his steps lighter or more careful, and set the plate down right in the middle of Will’s lap.

“Eat up,” Billy said carelessly, a little rough, trying not to notice when Will looked up at him that the look in his eyes was almost identical to the one he saw in El’s. He turned and went to the other couch, settling into the corner to wait for El and Hopper to return. He nodded to Mama Byers when she smiled at him thankfully from the other corner, supposing she was grateful that he’d already prepared the food for Will and she could get some rest too, and when he shook out a cigarette from his box, he noticed her look and gave her his last one. He was pretty sure that like him, she didn’t actually need or want the hit of nicotine, but the familiar nature of it was soothing enough that they smoked in companionable silence.

They didn’t have to wait long for Hopper to show up, the lights of his Blazer shining through the front window as he pulled in before the car shut off. Everyone sat up straighter, intent to see how El was doing – Hopper had said on their radios that it had worked, but it was hard to completely relax without seeing it with their own eyes.

Hopper came through the door, and for a moment Billy’s heart dropped to his feet at the sight of her sitting limply in his arms, sure that he had lied earlier and that El was injured or even _dead_ –

But then Hopper cut off those thoughts, saying quietly, “She’s just exhausted – she’s sleeping.”

The entire room let out a collective sigh of relief, and Mama Byers rose to her feet to direct him to one of the rooms in the back, where he could set her down to sleep more. On one hand, Billy understood, and wanted El to get some rest so she could feel better and not look so deathly pale. But on the other, he wanted to wake her up just to be sure that she was safe, to reassure himself that it wasn’t just a body that the chief was carrying so carefully away.

But that was a selfish desire, he knew, so he just settled back into the couch and finished his cigarette, flicking the butt into the tray on the side table at his elbow.

Hopper reappeared after a moment, looking like he’d aged twenty years since Billy had seen him last. He seated himself in the recliner and looked around at all of them, seeming taking a head count to make sure everyone was alright.

“I would yell at you kids but I honestly just don’t have the energy right now,” was the first thing Hopper said. “So, thanks for the assist.” He looked at each of them in turn with a raised eyebrow, landing on Billy last. Billy wondered how Hopper had figured out already what they had done, with burning the hub of the demodogs, but then he brushed it aside because he figured it didn’t really matter.

“We need to figure out a story,” Hopper said next. “Just like last time.”

“This one is a little more public, with all the deaths,” Nancy said quietly, glancing at Creepy Byers. “Jonathan and I…” Ah, that was his name – Jonathan.

But Hopper shook his head, cutting her off. “Not that bit – just with you kids. What you’ve been doing, why you aren’t at home in your own beds. Your parents are probably worried.”

“We can say the Party came over to support Will because he had a bad flashback episode at school, but the phone here was broken so we couldn’t call,” Dustin volunteered quickly, the quickest on his feet.

Billy thought the bluntness of that was pretty insensitive, but Will just shrugged, gnawing on a carrot stick. “It’s kind of true,” he said tiredly.

“I can say I spent the weekend with Jonathan – I don’t think my parents will really care,” Nancy said with a shrug.

“My parents are still gone,” Steve said shortly when Hopper turned his gaze to him. Billy tilted his head slightly, a little curious at the story he could sense there. He blinked in befuddlement when Hopper’s gaze went to Billy, and saw that Max was looking at him too, before his brain finally kickstarted into gear, catching up to the personal implications in the conversation.

“Shit,” he blurted, a new wave of adrenaline surging through him as he sat up straight, looking at his wristwatch. _4:37_ , it said on the readout. “ _Shit_ , it’s Sunday – Monday,” he corrected swiftly, rubbing a hand over his face in agitation. He rose to his feet, irritation rising when he saw that Max hadn’t yet moved. “Max – we gotta go. Come on, let’s _go_.”

Hopper was watching him shrewdly, and Billy abruptly remembered the first time he had met the man – shit, just barely over a week ago – when El had hinted (told, really) at how Billy’s dad was abusive toward him. Or – that he was “bad”. Hopper knew way more than Billy was comfortable with, but he really couldn’t deal with that right now, because Neil and Susan were _back_ , and they had been back for hours and clearly knew that Billy and Max weren’t where they were supposed to be, and shit there was going to be hell to pay when they got back to the house on Old Cherry Road. His mind rapidly ran through a range of possible excuses, but all of them were going to end in pain and there was nothing he could do about that now but accept it.

“Billy, do you want an escort?” Hopper asked him carefully. “We can come up with…”

Billy wanted to laugh, but he was pretty sure it would come out hysterical if he did, strung out and exhausted as he was and so thoroughly unable to keep his masks up like normal, so he just shook his head once in denial. Showing up this late after disappearing to God knew where would be bad enough, but showing up with a _cop_? That would just be _asking_ for more than bruises – Neil hated nothing more than appearing anything other than the perfect family he had envisioned in his head that they were supposed to be. Getting police attention was one of the worst things you could do in Neil Hargrove’s book.

“No – I’ll be fine, we’ve just gotta go now,” Billy insisted, digging through his pockets for his keys. “Max, come _on_.”

Max finally rose to her feet without a word, and Billy was too frazzled to try and interpret the odd expression on her face as she watched him. He went to the door, ignoring the concerned looks from some and the confused ones from others. Max said a quick, quiet goodbye to her friends, and followed right behind him, hugging her arms to herself.

“See you in basketball, Billy,” Steve called behind him, sounding like he was making an attempt at sounding normal. Billy didn’t know what it had been like when this Upside Down shit had gone down the year before, but their quick departure had probably left the rest of them feeling wrong-footed, so Steve’s attempt didn’t go unappreciated. That appreciation was in the very back of his mind though, as he waved vaguely behind him, grabbing Max’s skateboard from where it sat on the porch as they walked to the car.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Max tried, sounding unusually hesitant as she closed the passenger door behind her.

“Yes,” Billy agreed as he turned the key in the ignition, because he would make sure that she didn’t get any of the blame that Neil would be waiting to dish out. This was all on him, and he would make sure Neil didn’t have any doubts about that. “It will be.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I'm mean for ending it here. But the next fic I have very specific plans that this really is the best place to stop at haha.
> 
> Hope you liked it - let me know! Your comments fuel me to write more, and write faster. :)
> 
> EDIT: I realized as I was reading this over again that I was using tire iron and crowbar interchangeably. I promise I know the difference between them - I just couldn't decide originally what his weapon was and forgot to change it to be one all throughout lol. Now the title is changed too - it is definitely a tire iron that he used, because that would be the more likely item that he had on the floor of his car. Shame too, because "Crowbar and Nail Bat" just flows easier than "Nail Bat and Tire Iron"...oh, well. XD


End file.
